|
Snowshoeing is fun for snow lovers of all ages. Ski Industry Association
If you missed the main Winter Trails Day last week, have no fear: You can still get in on the action. After all, there are plenty of winter days left to enjoy the trails, and Estes Park is celebrating winter fun Saturday during its annual Winter Festival.
If you've always wanted to try snowshoeing, Estes is the place to be. There's fresh snow, it's supposed to be sunny and there's no cost to try the snowshoes and get instruction.
There'll be snowshoes from various manufacturers, including Tubbs, Atlas, MSR and Crescent Moon, and you'll have help gettting a proper fit. Free snowshoeing will be available 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Also free: clinics on winter activities, safety, nutrition and hydration, physical conditioning, and how to dress for winter hiking and camping. The clinics are sponsored by the national Winter Trails organization and REI.
Winter Trails Day will be held at the Park and Ride lot on Bear Lake Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. All activities are free, including entrance to the National Park. (Remember, entry to all national parks is free this weekend in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.)
A weekend of activities begins Friday with an old-fashioned Ceilidh Irish barn dance and bonfire with ghost stories, cowboy poetry and free cocoa and s'mores. Fun through Sunday includes a chili cook off & beer/wine tasting, a jalapeno eating contest, the CandyLand ice village and maze, ice sculptures, ice skating, pony rides, ice bowling, a scavenger hunt, and horse and carriage rides in addition to the snowshoeing.
Headquarters for the weekend festival has been moved to a heated pavilion at the Fairgrounds at Stanley Park. Festival grounds are open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the cost is $5 per person age 4 and older, which includes chili tasting. Wine and beer tasting (Snowy Peaks Winery, Turquoise Mesa Winery, Bookcliff Vineyards, Dithyramb Winery, Augustina’s Winery, Zephyr Cellars, Spero Winery, Ten Bears Winery, Settembre Cellars, Colorado Cider Co., Bristol Brewing, Estes Park Brewery, Pateros Creek Brewing, Funkwerks and Grimm Brothers Brewhouse) is an additional $20 per person.
Pony and horse carriage rides cost $5 per person.
Ice skating costs $1.
|
